Cardiovascular emergencies account for at least 30% of all medical emergencies. The impact of cardiovascular disease is felt in every hospital and every community. Whether you are drawn to critical care practice or not, you are bound to be confronted by acute cardiac events. Responding appropriately to cardiac emergencies requires a basic familiarity with cardiac anatomy and physiology, the ability to mobilize an advanced life support team, and the skills to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)....

It has been almost five years since our last edition was published. Much has
happened in the world of cardiology and especially device therapy since then.
A major advance has been the development of cardiac resynchronization therapy
as heralded by the development of biventricular pacemakers and implantable
cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). Cardiac resynchronization therapy represents
an important new device therapy for patients with congestive heart failure.

Cardiology is an area of great recent triumphs in pharmacological and surgical treatment, yet cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death and disability in the industrialized world. Coronary disease, heart failure, stroke and sudden arrhythmic cardiac death challenge both medical practitioners and scientists. With the dawning of the new `molecular' era, there is an awakened hope that a more fundamental understanding of biologic processes may eventually lead to new progress in the prevention and treatment of these persistent and seemingly intransigent problems.

Although dyspnea is a common symptom, there has been only limited investigation of
its prognostic significance among patients referred for cardiac evaluation.
methods
We studied 17,991 patients undergoing myocardial-perfusion single-photon-emission
computed tomography during stress and at rest. Patients were divided into five categories
on the basis of symptoms at presentation (none, nonanginal chest pain, atypical angina,
typical angina, and dyspnea).

The risk of sudden death from cardiac causes is increased among survivors of acute
myocardial infarction with reduced left ventricular systolic function. We assessed the
risk and time course of sudden death in high-risk patients after myocardial infarction.
methods
We studied 14,609 patients with left ventricular dysfunction, heart failure, or both after
myocardial infarction to assess the incidence and timing of sudden unexpected death
or cardiac arrest with resuscitation in relation to the left ventricular ejection fraction....

Expert guidelines advocate defibrillation within 2 minutes after an in-hospital cardiac
arrest caused by ventricular arrhythmia. However, empirical data on the prevalence
of delayed defibrillation in the United States and its effect on survival are limited.
Methods
We identified 6789 patients who had cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation or
pulseless ventricular tachycardia at 369 hospitals participating in the National Registry
of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. Using multivariable logistic regression, we
identified characteristics associated with delayed defibrillation....

To put the odds ratios of these genetic markers in context, let’s consider the effect size of the above
mentioned environmental risk factors that physicians currently use to assess patients’ likelihood of
myocardial infarction. The effect size of the genetic markers 9p21 and MTHFD1L equals or surpasses the
effect size of most of the currently recognized medical risk factors -- an insight which many physicians
may find illuminating.

Research objectives: Reviewing some clinical and subclinical symptoms, cardiac morphology and function via ultrasonography in cirrhotic patients; identifying a relationship between some parameters of cardiac morphology and function and some clinical and subclinical symptoms in cirrhotic patients.

Our main purpose in editing this book is to provide the health care practitioner
with general clinical practical guidelines regarding the use of pediatric
cardiovascular drugs. We also intend to provide an overview of basic pediatric
cardiovascular principles. We realize the need for a pocket reference handbook that
is tailored to meet the daily challenges of practitioners that care for pediatric
cardiac patients.

What to expect of this book
I assume that the reader of this book will have the level of
knowledge of the ECG that is contained in The ECG Made Easy, to
which this is a companion volume. The ECG is indeed easy in
principle, but the variations in pattern seen both in normal people
and in patients with cardiac and other problems can make the
ECG seem more complex than it really is. This book concentrates
on these variations, and contains several examples of each
abnormality. It is thus intended for anyone who understands the
basics, but now wants to use the ECG to its maximum potential as
a...

Everyday, millions of medical images are produced worldwide, to aid diagnosis and treat‐
ment of patients. A typical patient’s diagnostic work-up is often incomplete without a medi‐
cal imaging technique. The various techniques for achieving this have continued to evolve,
from the basics through the sophisticated and now to the abstract.

Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death in patients
with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The diagnosis, management,
and treatment of cardiac disease in ESRD remain a difficult problem for
clinicians. In 1982, Love and co-authors published “Cardiac Surgery in
Patients with Chronic Renal Disease’’ which compiled the latest and best
treatment options at that time.

Removal of lung parenchyma results in reduction of the pulmonary capillary bed. The
decrease in pulmonary capillary bed is well tolerated by patients with otherwise normal
lungs but in patients with pulmonary dysfunction this may result in postoperative
pulmonary hypertension.
Unlike most general surgical procedures where cardiovascular complications are the
major cause of perioperative morbidity and mortality, in thoracic surgical population
respiratory complications are the predominant cause of perioperative morbidity and
mortality (9,10). ...

The pathophysiology of cardiac arrhythmias is complex and the actions of drugs that are useful in stopping or controlling them may seem equally so. Nevertheless many patients with arrhythmias respond well to therapy with drugs and a working knowledge of their effects and indications pays dividends, for irregularity of the heart-beat is at least inconvenient and at worst fatal.The mechanisms by which the failing heart may be sustained are now better understood; carefully selected and monitored drugs can have a major impact on morbidity and mortality in this condition.

The perfect cardiac catheterization technique, including good diagnostic and therapeutic
qualities, without risk and with no recovery time for the patient, does not exist. Obtaining
initial access to the arterial circulation is the first and most frequent catheterization difficulty
encountered by the interventional cardiologist during the procedure. Often, it is also the
only difficult part of the exam for the patient because it may cause a vagal reaction or
painful spasm.

Pediatric cardiology section enlightens us on cardiovascular changes in fetuses /
infants as well as some pediatric cardiovascular surgical procedures needing skill
under recent developments. Pediatric hemato-oncology section explains novel
developments of well-known diseases such as neuroblastoma and thalassemias. For
instance; whole genome searches and molecular basis for diagnosis of neuroblastoma
are discussed. However, this section also includes some common complications of
oncology e.g. fertility and fatigue seen in these patients.